Wire rope



R. D. GREEN.

WIRE ROPE.

APPLICATION FILED IAN. 8,1920- RENEWED AUG. II, I92I- y 1,405,888. Patented Feb. 7, 1922..

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

RICHARD DUANEYGREEN, or TREN'roN, NEW JERSEY, AssrGNoR 'ro JOHN A RoEBLINGs soNs COMPANY, or TRENToN, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION 0F NEW JERSEY.

WIRE ROPE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 7, 1922.

Application led January 8, 1920, Serial No. 350,152. Renewed August 11, 1921. Seria] No. 491,573.

T 0 ali whom t may concern.'

yBe it known that I, RICHARD DUANE GREEN, .a citizen of the United States, residing at Trenton, county of Mercer, and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in lVirc Ropes, fully described and represented in the following specification and the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the same.

Wirc ropes for general hoisting purposes, where sheave work requires considerable flexibility, are generally formed with a fibre core of manila or other suitable fibre and the wire strands are laid up helically on this core.

,With particularly heavy duties such as encountered in present day commercial use, the excessive tension, by a concentration of pressure on the fibre strands, or the like, eventually causes disintegration of the fibre core. wWhen the fibre core thus ceases to function, the wire strands are supported only by each other, and the result is a tendency of the strand wires to nick. This nicking not only shortens the life of the rope, but tends to lock the' strands, thus restricting strand and wire movement when the rope is used in sheaves, causing the wires to break.

lt is the especial object of the present invention to provide a heavy dut-y wire rope such that the fibre core is given a higher compressive resistent-e and nicking of. the strand wires is prevented, and an extended bearing for the rope strands is provided, thus making possible a wireiope of higher. efficiency and longer life. The invention is applicable generally to wire ropef, however, whether desired for light or heavy duty.

With this general object in view, the iiivention consists inthe combinations, details of construction and arrangement of parts which will first be described in connection with the accompanying drawing and then more particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing Figure 1 is a plan view, with parts broken away, of a wire rope embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken through the completed rope; and

Figure 3 is a similar view taken through the rope before closing.

Referring to the drawing, there is provided a plurality of wire strands 11 helically laid up on a multiple core hereinafter described. Each strand 11 preferably consists of a plurality of individual small wires which are preferably of high carbon steel andv are helically laid up on each other in the usual manner of making wire rope strands. Although six wire strands of nineteen wires each are shown, it is understood that any other suitable arrangement may be used.

T he invention includes a multiple core having a plurality, of compressible strands, of which one' serves asv a center core and about which the others are lielicallv laid up to provide separating bearers for`the wire strands. In the embodiment here shown, there is provided a multiple core including a center core 1Q. This is shown as a fibre core formed of a number of fibre strands of manila or the like helically laid up in the usual manner of a fibre core. In structures embodying the invention to the` best advantage there is provided a tenacious protctor for the center core. The exemplification of the tenacious protector here shown is a. narrow, fiat, steel .band or Hat wire 13, lielically laid up. on the fibre core. The band oi' flat wire 13 is preferably laid up under considerable tension. so that the core is placed under'an initial compression. Also the band .or at wire is preferably so wound that the edges of adjacent convolutions are substantially contiguous so as to .fully enclose the core and hold the lubrication therein. These edges are shown as square 'but they may be rounded if desired, and this may be preferable, especially in large ropes as avoidingall possibility of the edges cutting the core. A half round or similar form of band may bel used, with the rounded side next the core, which will taper off the pressure on the core and reduce liability to injuring the core in bending over sheaves. For convenience in manufacture, the protecting band 13 may be of several alternating pieces, two being shown in the drawing.

ln the present embodiment the bearer members 14 of the multiple core are like the center core 12 except that the are shown as somewhat smaller in size. hese bearing members 14 are served with tenacious protectors 15 which are here shown as like the tenacious protectors 13 of the 4center core except that the protectors 15 are preferably of soft, annealed steel, so as to be deformable, whereas. the protector 13 for the center core is preferably, though not necessarily, hard and substantially 4non-deformable.

4The bearer members 14 of the multiple core are laid up on the center core with the same pitch as the wire strands 11 and so.as to lie between them.

The construction described provides a multiple core comprising a center core and a number of separating bearers deformable under the tension of the wire strands to substantially conform to the configuration thereof. Figure 3 illustrates the relation of the parts before the rope is closed. Upon closing, the tension exerted by the wire strands deforms the bearer members 14 of the multiple core so that they substantially conform to the configuration of the wire strands. This deformation is increased when the completed rope is laced under high tension work. Under tiis deformation the core members 14 take some such form as that shown in Figs. 1 and 2, thus providing an extended bearing layer for the Wire strands which separates the strands from one another and from the center core.

With the construction described concentrated pressure on t-he fibre st-rands of the center core is prevented. The initial pressure given the fibre core 12 in laying up the protecting band 13, when such is used, 'flattens out, to a certain extent, the corrugations of the fibre strands, thus presenting a more cylindrical surface to the protector.l The center core has a much higher degree ot compressive resistance than, in the case of the usual fibre core ropes, and the life of the rope is prolonged. The separating bearers provided by the outer members 14 of the multiple core prevent nicking of the strand wires and the extent of flow of the-se core members into the configuration of vthe wire,

strands, underthe tension thereof, provides an effective and uniform separation of the wire strands that gives a better .spacing of ble cores as defined byvthe claims; and thatwhile the separating bearers'have been described as being fibre or similar strands, they may be formed of other material, such that they are deformable under the tension of the wire strands to substantially conform to the configuration thereof.

What I claim is: 4

l. A wire rope comprising a multiple core having a plurality ot compressible strands, one of which serves as a center core and about which the others are helically laid up, tenacious protectors for said strands, and a plurality of wire strands helically laid up on said multiple core.

2. A wire rope comprising a multiple core having a plurality of compressible strands, one of which serves as a center core and about which the others are helically laid up, a hard, tenacious protector for the center core, deformable, tenacious protectors for the other strands, and a plurality of Wire strands helically laid up on said multiple core.

3. A wire rope comprisingr a multiple core having a. plurality of compressible strands, one of which serves as a center core and about which the others are helically laid up to serve as separating bearers, tenacious protectors for said bearer strands, and a plurality of wire strands helically laid up on said multiple core.

4. A wire rope comprisingr a multiple core having a plurality of compressible strands, one of which serves as a center core, and about which the others are helically laid up to serve as separating bearers, tenacious protectors for said bearer strands, and a tenacous protector for said center core helically laid up on said core to place the same underl an initial compression, and a plurality of wire strands helically laid up on said multiple core.

5. 4A wire rope comprising a plurality of Ihelically laid up Wire strands, and a multiple core for said wire strands having a compressible center core, a plurality of compressible strands deformable under the tension of the Wire strands to substantially conform'to the conti uration thereof, and tenacious protectors or the members of said multiple core.

6. A wire rope comprising a plurality of helically laid up wire strands, a multiple core for said wire strands having a compressible center core, a plurality of compressible strands deformable under the tension of the wire strands to substantially conform tothe configuration thereof, and deformable tenacious protectors for said deformable strands.

`7. A wire rope comprisin a multiple fibre core having a plurality of bre strands,lone of which serves as a center core and about which the others arev helically laid up, tenacous protectors for said fibre strands', and a plurality of wire strands helically laid up about said multiple core.

8; A Wire rope comprising a multiple -fibre core having a plurality of fibre strands, one

10 about which the others are helically laid up to serve as separating bearers, tenacious protectors for the strands of said multiple core laid up on said strands to place the same under an initial compression, and a plurality of wire strands helically laid up about said 15 multiple core.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

RICHARD DUANE GREEN. 

